Circumstantial
by blackrose113
Summary: Once upon a time there lived a prince. In a moment of despair, he made a wish that changed all circumstances he hoped weren’t fixed, and found that they weren’t…but fate just wouldn’t give him a break. ZukoToph
1. Miso Soup

_Once upon a time there lived a prince. In a moment of despair, he made a wish that changed all circumstances he hoped weren't fixed, and found that they weren't…but fate just wouldn't give him a break. ZukoToph_

**Chapter 1: Miso Soup**

Prince Zuko rested his chin on his palm as he listened to the plans for the final battle against the Avatar's Alliance: the coalition of the last free armies of the world, led by the Avatar. It seemed that Fire Nation was finally reaching its century long quest to conquer the four nations, and with his limited resources, there was only so much even the Avatar could do.

Treacherous thoughts swirled in Zuko's head and slowly the tension in his body began to build. He made the right decision, helping Azula. After all, it was the only way to save Uncle, right? If he could gain enough trust, he could keep Uncle from being executed as a traitor. There was no way Uncle would have escaped after that fight, right? Right? Then why was his gut clenching as his fist was? Why did he feel as if that waterbender had encased his torso in ice? Why was—

"—Prince Zuko?"

His eyes snapped to the general that addressed him and he was relieved to find that his instincts had kicked in before he completely drifted off, and he knew exactly what the general was talking about. Lately, he felt as if there were two people residing in a single body, each with different motives and goals. Was this how the Avatar felt? Conflicted between the many souls he held? But the Avatar was just one soul. One very experienced and more importantly, _peaceful_ soul.

Prince Zuko answered.

No, he had brought this upon himself. He had tried to quash the side of him that almost went over to the Avatar's side. Years in that burning, angry palace with cold emotions all around him, trying to mold him into the proper prince when that just wasn't him. The blue and red dragon. Apathy and passion. Ruthlessness and mercy. Yin and Yang. How cliché. But still, everything came back to that, didn't it? Keeping the balance between the two. Where had his balance gone?

The meeting ended and the scarred prince returned to his chambers to mull over the battle plans he had just heard. Could he really go through with this? Was this what he wanted?

_No._

It was surprising how quickly the answer came to him. But that was the _wrong_ answer. He was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation! He was brutal and pitiless. He didn't go soft at the first sign of danger or turmoil. The thoughts drilled into his head since he was a child called to him and he felt his mind fog. He wasn't who he had been born to be. He wasn't fit to be a Fire Lord as his status dictated.

If only…if only he had been born into a different family. Then he would be free of the expectations and the rules, the violence and rage! The colliding forces within himself.

"I wish I weren't my father's son."

And suddenly, he was standing in front of a stove, stirring a pot full of miso soup. Wearing a pink apron.

"Zuko darling! Are you up alread—what's wrong!"

Zuko felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw his mother standing before him, alive. She was older than he remembered with deeper wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and by her nose and mouth. Wrinkles that followed the lines of her smile. She was breathing, and Zuko's sharp eyes saw her shoulders rising and falling ever so slightly. Her heart beat and her face glowed with life.

_Oh my._

"Oh my!" His mother's words echoed his thoughts and she rushed to turn the heat down as soup bubbled over the sides of the pot. "Zuko, you look a little pale. Oh and look!" She touched the back of a slightly warm hand to his forehead. It was warm warm warm _warm!_ Not cold or stiff like a porcelain doll! "You're forehead's burning up! Go back to bed. I'll make breakfast alright?"

Zuko nodded mutely, unable to speak or think or feel. His brain was overloaded with thoughts and emotions, and he was unsure as to which one to address first. Fear? Was this all just a dream that would be snatched away from him the moment Azula's sharp fingernails pierced his shoulder to wake him? Or maybe anger. This is how mother should be! Alive and well and _not_ being devoured by worms and maggots. Surprise? Really, what had happened? What had changed? Did his wish come true?

_The wish!_

And then the memories hit.

"Argh!" He clenched his teeth and grabbed a handful of hair, trying to distract himself from the images pounding at his temple. As they came back, he stumbled to his room—because he knew it was _his_ room now, and always had been for the past sixteen years. Lights dotted his vision and black sprouted from their centers before he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

_-0-_

_If anyone has suggestions for the direction of this story, please leave it in a review. Otherwise, it would be nice to get at least 5 reviews before I start the next chapter…XP Press that little grey review button!_


	2. Jade Earrings

_Once upon a time there lived a prince. In a moment of despair, he made a wish that changed all circumstances he hoped weren't fixed, and found that they weren't…but fate just wouldn't give him a break. ZukoToph_

Haha, I fixed the name! Yay! And I didn't know Toph's mother's name. Does anyone know?

**Chapter 2: Jade Earrings**

Zuko groaned as more images flooded his mind. Strange, really, how he could feel like he was on fire and being frozen to death simultaneously even as he was reliving a decade and a half of memories.

"_You know, Zuzu, Dad's really disappointed in your firebending skills. I heard the master tell him that your stances were better suited for water bending or even earth bending, and he got so angry! I think he hates you!" Azula sang as flames danced around her fingers._

_Zuko felt his face flush and he stomped away, "You're wrong! Dad does love me! I'm the heir to the Fire Nation throne! Not you!" His sister was wrong. She had to be! He would work hard and become better than she herself could dream of becoming. Still, a little part of him believed her._

_Azula's eyes darkened and before Zuko even thought to retract his words, the drawstring of his pants had been burned through by his baby sister's firewhip. _

"_MOM!"_

_Azula laughed, her childish voice ringing with malice. "Mom can't save you from me all the time. And she hates you too. You don't belong to this family, weakling." Her smirk was cruel and her words hit Zuko hard. With that, the four year old girl sauntered away, throwing fireballs at the servants who scurried past._

And as memories came back to him, he began to understand that he really wasn't his father's child in this world. Was this even a different world? Had he maybe been transported to a parallel universe, and the Zuko in this realm transported to his? Had he changed something in the past? Something crucial? Had he disappeared from his world or destroyed it? What about Uncle Iroh?

He tried to push away the questions that plagued his mind and worked to distinguish between his old and new memories. The day he left the Fire Nation in this world, Azula had taunted him about his origins. Her shrill, five year old voice still rang in his head.

"_Hah! I always knew mother was a whore!" His fingertips burned in anger. "And you're her bastard child! Did you know that mother conceived _you_ when she was on a trip to Earth Nation?" And suddenly he felt as if he'd been dunked in the Arctic waters of the rival Waterbender clans'. "You're the child of a dirty earthbender!" His heart beat louder. _

"_No wonder why your old master said you weren't fit for firebending! Father has finally had enough of your failures, so you and mother are banished to Earth Kingdom. Don't choke on the dust, dear little Zuzu, and know that what you thought was your birthright, is now mine."_

_His world was suddenly turned upside down, inside out, and shaken around in a matter of seconds…this couldn't be true. No. He was Prince Zuko! He would be Lord Zuko! He was Fire Nation royalty!_

_Azula curled her lip haughtily and flicked a bang away from her face._

"_And I won't mess it up like you!"_

_She sneered at him and threw a fireball at the topknot on his head, singing it away and branding him an outcast. Zuko had said nothing as his sister insulted his heritage and their mother, and he was speechless still. Slowly, hesitantly, almost fearfully, his small hands settled on his short hair. The smell of his scorched topknot finally reached his nose and the pressure behind his eyes built._

_There was…no turning back from this. Even if her words weren't true, there was no way he could return to his father with the shame of a destroyed topknot! And if indeed her words were true…then he really was being banished from the kingdom. This was his home! His grandfather would never let him be banished, would he? _

Zuko's eyes flew open and he pulled himself away from the comfortable cot he rested on. These things…they couldn't be real! They just couldn't! Why would his stupid wish come true anyways? The gods must detest him for the destruction his family caused! None of this made any sense!

**-0-**

Green eyes flashed, hair flew in the wind, delicate fingers moved and then…the sound of a harp flitted through the air. Talk about a letdown. Lady Izumi Bei Fong sat on the other side of the carriage and continued with her embroidery, not jabbing her finger a single time with the needle as she listened to her daughter play. This was due in part to Toph absently earthbending the road to become straight and smooth.

Her skilled hands ran along the taut strings of the gilded instrument and her eyelids drooped peacefully over her silver laced eyes. A delighted smile lifted Izumi's lips as she glanced at her daughter and decided that even with her handicap, Toph would grow up to be a refined, beautiful Bei Fong lady.

'_God damnit I don't wanna be here!'_

She brooded quietly, playing the angriest song she knew how to play (which was still considerably soft) and paved more road that necessary for their carriage.

'_Last time I missed the tournament against that stupid bozo Kuang Tu! "The Boulder" my butt! That's the most retarded name I've ever heard! And of course he just thought that I backed out because I was scared. Coming here last time ruined my reputation!'_

The road behind them spiked up like stalagmites and plants and pebbles went flying.

Twang!

Toph winced as she hit a sour note and Lady Izumi's eyes flew to her daughter. "My goodness Toph! Have you been practicing at all? You've barely gotten through half the song! And where is your jewelry! We are meeting very old friends of your father's and mine, and I do _not_ intend to let you make a fool of yourself!"

'_Can anyone say "bipolar psycho"?'_

Toph cracked her fingers—her own way of rolling her eyes at her mother.

"Toph!" her mother scolded again. "We're almost at the Jung's house! Hurry up and get ready!" It was amazing how her mother could throw a bitch fit and still look as impeccable as always. _'Must have something to do with being a "lady".'_

Huh. She really had picked up some language from the underground tournaments hadn't she….

"TOPH!"

Toph relented, "Of course, mother." She could feel her mother's heart beating erratically and houses were in "view" already. _'I hate these things.'_ She pulled out a pair of intricate, heavy jade earrings and held them out to her mother, who quickly inserted them into her ears and snapped the backings on. An equally expensive and attractive necklace was placed around her neck, and jade and silver bangles were pushed onto her thin wrists, leaving only her ankles bare.

Even then, she had to don socks and a pair of heeled, silk slippers, both of which absorbed vibrations from the ground and left her almost completely blind in every sense of the word. The only thing she had going for her now were her ears, which were weighted down by her earrings and being stretched uncomfortably.

'_God damnit…'_

**-0-**

"Izumi!"

"Ursa!"

The two women greeted each other warmly and hugged, their faces glowing warmly, as Zuko noted, and their steps lighter and bouncier, as Toph noted. When they pulled away, they bowed to each other respectfully and Ursa pushed Zuko to greet their guests. Her eyes twinkled and ideas for a future marriage began to fizzle into existence as she introduced her son, "This is Zuko. He's still a bit pale because he just got over an illness, but he should be fine now. I'm sure he'd _love_ to spend time outside and enjoy the nice weather!"

Zuko blinked confusedly. Though his mother had died years ago, his memory of her was sharp and fresh, and he was sure she had never been that outspoken before. She had always been quiet and composed, but still caring. _'I suppose ten years away from Father really did something…"_

Izumi seemed to have come to the same conclusion as her friend, and she eagerly thrust Toph in front of her. "Wonderful, wonderful! This is Toph. She prefers being indoors, but I'm sure if she had some company to help her around, she'd love some sun too, isn't that right Toph darling?"

Toph opened her mouth to respond but was quickly cut off by her mother, who proceeded to usher Zuko and herself off to the koi pond with a loud, shrieking laugh. Toph raised her eyebrows in confusion when she felt Izumi and Ursa's hearts racing from excitement and anticipation. Ursa called to her son, "Make sure you take good care of Toph there! She's so beautiful it really would be a shame if she got hurt or dirty!"

The two women turned to walk away, but over her shoulder, Izumi suggested that Zuko take Toph's hand, and stared unnervingly at him until he did so.

**-0-**

'_This is the earthbending girl! She traveled with the Avatar! She's from an upper-class family? She certainly acts like a lady. Maybe a barbarian in disguise…. Why is she here now? Should I tell her that I'm from a different world? Is this a different world? Will she think I'm crazy? How am I supposed to bring it up? Oh jeez…I don't know how to talk to a girl!'_

What really came out was: "So…nice earrings. Jade?"

Zuko could've sworn that that hole wasn't there before…

**-0-**

Sorry the first chapter was so short. Anyways, leave any suggestions or comments in a review! I'm aiming for 10 reviews this time…XD


	3. Deal Sealed

There were a few dumb typos in past chapters. Just lemme get around to fixing those…

**Chapter 3: Deal Sealed**

Toph felt her foot catch on a conveniently placed tree root and she would've gone sprawling on the ground had Zuko not caught her by the arm. She ground her teeth (a habit her mother _abhorred_) but smiled demurely and adjusted the impractical paper umbrella on her shoulder.

_God damnit this is really, really dumb._

Zuko was growing impatient at the idiotic small talk he was exchanging with the earthbender, and wondered if maybe he had the wrong person. Or even worse…what if he had somehow altered so much in this world, that Toph wasn't a master earthbender or that Aang wasn't the Avatar anymore? Just the thought made his head hurt, so he decided to do some prodding around in current affairs. But he needed to do this tactfully…

"So, Toph. Those flowers are stunning, aren't they?"

Toph ground her teeth harder and she was sure that moron next to her could hear it. Did he not understand the meaning of the word "blind"? Or was he just that callous—thinking her weak and delicate just because she couldn't see?

"What do _you_ think, _Lord_ Zuko? Do you think I can see them?"

Well, mother had always said to let the man take control. She was, in a roundabout way, asking for his opinion…right?

Zuko felt like slapping himself in the forehead, but he was sure he'd seem like even more of a dunderhead to Toph (_not_ a good thing) if he did, and both his hands were currently occupied by either supporting Toph's arm or lifting his trailing robes so he didn't trip.

God damnit all…

"So I hear that the Avatar is back. You know anything?"

Toph absently congratulated herself on the back for paying a hefty sum for news on political affairs. Her parents had sheltered her so much that she had no idea there was a war going on until some weeks ago, after her thirteenth birthday had put money in her own purse. _Politics is bad for attracting men. They want to know you will take care of their children, and make their home a respite from daily worries such as work, or politics._ Toph blinked. Fuck that!

"Yeah. He came around our home," _so please don't come over, because I'm sure you're just another wuss that wants to keep away from trouble_, "a little while ago." _Try a year ago…._ "Actually I heard that he kidnapped," _more like asked politely, but the more danger he thinks is around our home the better,_ "some earthbender from an underground earthbending ring," _that _**I**_ am the champion of,_ "to help him."

Zuko nearly fell into another gopher hole (but gopher holes weren't nearly that smooth down the sides or straight into the ground or sharp around the edges) at these words. The Avatar kidnapped someone?! No…she must be messing with him, if the sudden tilt to her lips was any indication.

_She's smart. We must have a bad history…I remember our last (first meeting in this world) being very troublesome. She was really angry about something._

Time for a test. He led her into the grass, "to pick flowers for the lovely lady" (gag!) and warned her of several gopher holes around the area. "I'll guide you around them, though." Her footsteps suddenly became more forceful and her jade earrings jangled. _Is she trying to break into the ground!_ Zuko began panicking that this world's Toph was suicidal, masochistic, or perhaps sadistic (was trying to send _him_, the heavier of the two down?). No…. If he understood right, she saw through vibrations in the ground, but the slippers she was currently wearing probably sucked the vibrations out, leaving her alert only to the most obvious shudders of the ground. So she was adding her own vibrations.

He noticed that she jumped ("hopped" would be the more ladylike term…actually, not really) over the holes in front of her, and the ones too large to jump over suddenly closed up. He gave a triumphant grin and picked the closest flower to him and handed it to Toph. "You, my dear, fair lady, are an earthbender!"

-0-

Toph went cold and gripped the flower tighter. The stem bent in her grip, but she never cared much for that stuff. She felt cold sweat leaking down her hairline and her breath caught in her throat. Had she slipped? Should she have not filled up some of those holes?

"I'm sorry?"

What could she do! Her parents would _kill_ her if they found out she had let a potential husband discover her talent. All she had officially been taught was how to smooth the ground out a bit. Apparently, she was ready to graduate to "making chairs spring forth from the earth." It was deemed unattractive for a lady to earthbend. Well, it was for a Bei Fong, at least. She knew that it was similar in the Northern Water Tribes, but bending was prided in Fire and Air cities. It was seen as a sign of worthiness and strength.

Zuko sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. So, she wasn't as amused as he hoped she'd be. "You're an earthbender," he repeated, really hoping that she wouldn't command the earth to swallow him into oblivion. "I know, and it's fine. I can firebend."

Toph narrowed her eyes. Ok, so maybe it wasn't so smart to blurt _that_ fact about himself before she even accepted him as knowing her secret, but whatever. He needed things done as fast as possible. If his calculations were correct, they had one season (some three months or so) to find the Avatar, help him master firebending, help him master earthbending, amass an army to invade Fire Nation, recruit his uncle, reach Fire Nation, and defeat them. And apparently they were more powerful than ever, due to the Fire Nation Princess, and the new Lady.

Exile at age fourteen was suddenly looking much better now.

-0-

"Here's the deal," Toph had led them to a grove of apple trees (the furthest from the house deemed respectable for them to be) and leaned against a tree trunk, listening curiously to the teen beside her (she had daintily removed her slippers moments before). "Magic is real, obviously. There's bending, and probably all other different types of magic no human's ever mastered before. I mean _truly_ mastered, so I don't understand this at all. But the world wasn't always like this."

Toph cracked her fingers. "No duh. It was way prettier when your buttface wasn't around."

Zuko glared. "I thought you couldn't see!" he retorted in annoyance.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't feel your ugliness through the ground. Jeez, your poor mother!" She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"_Anyways,"_ he stressed, clenching his fists and trying to remind himself that this _child_ was some three years younger than him and that he had to be patient, "the point is, to be blunt, that I came from a different world."

Toph yawned. "I'm thirteen, not three. Don't take me for an idiot. Listen, this whole thing might be a fun joke for _you_, but _I'm_ the one stuck in these uncomfortable clothes, okay? So hurry up, get to the punchline, then your mom can see your ugly buttface again and we'll all be happy."

"It's not a joke!" Zuko hissed. He grabbed his hair in annoyance. "God! If you were this annoying I don't even understand why the Avatar stuck with you! Hell I don't even understand why Uncle Iroh put up with you!"

Toph froze and as Zuko continued ranting, her jaw clenched. "Wait." The cold sweat had returned and pulses of fear ran through her. "Uncle Iroh?" How did they know about her friendship with Iroh—a very distinctive name, but…they couldn't have found out…. "The Avatar?" she threw in to draw attention away from her friend. "What do they have anything to do with your stupid joke?"

Zuko groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "Listen, I'll tell it to you from the very beginning, alright? You can't tell this to anyone, even if you think it's a joke. It's…just don't." Toph shrugged, but the anticipation was killing her. If someone like Zuko had found out that she knew Iroh, who else knew? Would they use it against theex-general? Would they lock him up for going through enemy lands without razing every village he encountered to the ground?

"Promise."

It was a command, and Toph didn't take well to commands. But she nodded, spit on her palm, and held it out to him. Zuko grimaced. That was so unhygienic. The hesitation Toph felt in the air was enough to make her smirk but Zuko returned the gesture and they shook. Deal sealed.

-0-

School started. I have a gazillion tests. Goddamnit…


End file.
